Gaza’s hunger for change: ‘We want to eat’ slogans
Dozens of Palestinians in the north of the Gaza Strip, where Israel has continued its attacks for more than 4 months and the United Nations (UN) announced that it is on the verge of famine, want the attacks to stop and humanitarian aid to be delivered to the region. The angry crowd took to the streets in the Cibaliya Refugee Camp in northern Gaza and chanted slogans such as “We want food”, “We want to live” and “The people want a bag of flour”.
The northern part of Gaza is among the main targets of the Israeli army’s attacks, which started on October 7. Palestinians, who do not want to leave the region that has been devastated due to attacks, have been deprived of the most basic human needs for more than 4 months. Israel, which has made Gaza uninhabitable, continues to prevent humanitarian aid from entering the region, especially the north.
The angry crowd took to the streets in the Cibaliya Refugee Camp in the north of Gaza, where hunger and thirst were experienced, basic needs were lacking and humanitarian aid could not be delivered due to the obstacle of the Israeli army, chanting slogans such as “We want to eat”, “We want to live” and “The people want a bag of flour”. Demonstrators made noise by hitting the pots they carried to draw attention to the lack of food and water in the region as a result of the blockade that Israel has tightened since October 7, 2023.
In his statement, Palestinian Yunus Abu Verde said, “People want to live, they are under siege, there is no food, no water, no bread. People eat animal food and want to eat like in other countries in the world.”
Mahmud Yunus said, “We want food, what is the fault of children who are deprived of education and food? We do not want war, we want to raise our children and live in peace and freedom.”
Yunus from Gaza stated, “We want our children to sleep comfortably and be satisfied for one night, we do not want war.” He continued, “What is my son’s fault in dying? Our house is being destroyed, my children are left on the streets. 4 months have passed and I have not seen my mother.”
Demonstrators demanded the lifting of the blockade imposed on the northern Gaza Strip, which forces people to eat animal feed. Israel has been continuing its air, land, and sea attacks on the Gaza Strip, where approximately 2.3 million Palestinians live, since October 7, 2023.
Due to the attacks, 29 thousand 195 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed, and 69 thousand 170 Palestinians have been injured. The Israeli army’s attacks displaced 1.9 million Palestinians in Gaza. Due to the difficulties caused by Israel, not enough aid can be delivered to the region. Palestinians are struggling, on the one hand, with Israeli attacks, and on the other hand, with hunger that deepens every day.
The UN had warned that 2.2 million people were at risk of famine in the Gaza Strip, which was under intense attack by Israel. According to the UN, 378 thousand people in Gaza face level 5 hunger, which is called “catastrophic”, according to the Integrated Food Security Stage Classification (IPC) scale, and 939 thousand people face level 4 hunger, which is known as “emergency”. Acute food insecurity in the Gaza Strip has reached 16.2 percent, exceeding the 15 percent threshold that the World Health Organization defines as “critical”.
Citing Israel’s attacks, the UN World Food Program (WFP) had decided to halt the distribution of life-saving food aid to the north of Gaza until conditions allowing safe distribution were met. The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) also announced that Palestinians in the north of the Gaza Strip, where Israel caused a humanitarian disaster by forcibly starving and dehydrating, were on the verge of famine.
It is reported that Palestinians, especially those living in the north of Gaza, are forced to consume animal feed by grinding it because they cannot find flour. The situation in Gaza is dire, with the people desperately in need of humanitarian aid amidst ongoing attacks and the risk of famine.
